Double Bobcats Pathway

Motion to endorse policy recommendation regarding the Double Bobcats Pathway. 

Proposed policy language: “Students admitted to an approved Double Bobcat pathway may take up to 12 semester hours of pre-approved graduate credit as an undergraduate student and apply the credit to both the undergraduate and graduate degree requirements.”

The origin of this policy began with the Graduate School and has been reviewed thus far by multiple graduate coordinators, the Graduate Council, and APC. We hope this new policy (attached) will provide a structured pathway, as the current policy does not have universal structure. Furthermore, the new policy would allow an increase of credits for completion within the pathway from a maximum of 6 credits to a maximum of 12 credits which can help students from a financial perspective as they work toward a graduate degree given the Hope Zell scholarship can pay for these courses during undergraduate coursework. Since the graduate credits would be nontransferable to other institutions, the adoption of this pathway into policy will help with retention of our Georgia College undergraduate students into our graduate programs. It will also help us remain competitive with other universities in Georgia as many already offer similar programs (UGA, for example). Adopting policy for this pathway will make the process more visible across campus and assist with transparency to advisors, students, parents, and faculty.